Aleutian Microtechnology in Anangula Times (9000 - 4000 BP)

Summary

Since its discovery more than 50 years ago, the Anangula phase has been recognized as the first known occupation in the eastern Aleutian Islands. The initial discovery of the Anangula Blade Site near Umnak Island, and the more recent find of Hog Island in the Unalaska District revealed assemblages in many ways characteristic of highly mobile terrestrial hunter-gatherers with only minimal evidence of a maritime economy. This seeming paradox of island dwellers heavily invested in terrestrial resources may be explained by seasonal land fast ice which provided a route for caribou access onto the archipelago. Microblades, most likely hafted to arrow shafts, are abundant during Anangula times. Bows are best used for terrestrial, not maritime, game. The Anangula sites are extensive but shallow, without middens, have ephemeral structural remains, and have a limited repertoire of tools. Individual tool types including microblades, blades, burins and scrapers, however, are numerous. This pattern suggests specialized extractive activity. Anangula most likely represents an off shoot of the interior Paleoarctic tradition, and it developed toward the end of the phase into a populous and sedentary adaptation to the rich marine environment.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage